LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Political disarray in Delaware and US

In many respects, Delaware is a microcosm of what’s happening across this great nation with respect to politics and politicians. Our state legislators have come to agreement on a budget, only to create what will surely cause more chaos next year — typical political moves and rhetoric, keep putting off the inevitable, and, “we had to do this, it is our responsibility.”

Our representatives in Congress are mired in the same type of foolishness and rhetoric. The Republicans are fighting amongst themselves, and the Democrats are strongly united in their position of resist, resist, resist. Forget the effects of that strategy on the country and the average citizen, just continue resisting until the 2018 elections.

I am not sure anyone knows what will happen with Obamacare reform. If Congress does not act, Obamacare will remain the law of the land, and before we know what hit us, we will have socialized medicine. If that happens, we all lose.

Obamacare forced you to buy health insurance, which is not health care, or you paid a “tax.” Remember Obama’s words when questions about a tax were raised reference the bill, and how Chief Justice Roberts justified the bills’ existence? If we end up with socialized medicine, you won’t have to worry about buying worthless health insurance with its outrageous premiums or deductibles, or paying the insurance tax, as the government will decide what type, how much, and when you will receive health care. Get ready to stand in long, long queues.

One other thought, when you reach 75 or 80, the health care rationed to that age group may not be enough. But that’s OK, from a bureaucratic standpoint, you’ve lived a long and productive life. Understand what happened in Great Britain with that sick baby, and that under socialized medicine, the “private hospital industry,” will grow overnight.

The progressive policies followed by the Democrats are nothing more than socialism, and in reality, just short of absolute control over our lives. If you listen to Chuck, Elizabeth, Bernie, and Nancy, they know what’s best for you, and God forbid you disagree with their thought process.

We already have excessive government, and the progressives want more. More regulation, more bureaucracy, more government “giveaways,” and very little of you and me being responsible for our actions, thoughts, and words. Let the government run your life, you’ll be so much better for it. Understand one other fact — those who push progressivism will never be affected by it. They are the ones who will make the rules, which will not apply to them.

Aside from forgetting what history has taught us about socialism, its philosophy contains an incredibly serious flaw. Who pays for the government to control everything in your life? Bernie and company will tell you the “rich.” The question is, who is rich? Someone who is worth a billion, 100 million, 10 million, one million? And, what happens when those classes are taxed to the max and the Democrats realize they still don’t have enough money?

There are those who will tell you that 1929 will never happen again, don’t believe it. I truly believe very few progressives understand or even know the meaning of the words “fiduciary responsibility.”

How did we get to the point where so many Americans believe that socialism, with all of its known dangers and failures, is a viable way of life? I am not a sociologist, nor do I pretend to be one, but I suspect there are a number factors that over the past 30 years or so have contributed to this mindset.

We have lost the art of parenting, we’ve allowed our educational system to degrade to the point where we are teaching our children that the United States is a bad country, our college campuses are a hotbed of socialistic thought and teaching, we provide college students with safe spots against those who would disagree with their socialistic philosophy, we try to teach people how to think under the guise of “everyone is the same,” we believe it’s OK to dishonor and even kill our policemen, we have seen the enactment of more and more government programs, and we’ve had the same set of politicians in Washington, both Democrat and Republican, for far too long.

We have also ignored the illegal immigrant problem and truly began treating them like citizens. So much so, progressives keep pushing to justify their receipt of government payments. How does one justify using taxpayer money to pay for “some” children to attend college for free? We have sanctuary cities that are defying federal law and now trying to make illegals citizens without using the process we’ve had in place since my grandparents emigrated here in the early 1900s. Why do we allow this? One answer is the degradation of our educational system and what we have been teaching our children for the past couple of generations.

Lastly, we’ve lost the true meaning of the words socialism and our form of government, a democratic republic. Webster gives us multiple definitions of socialism; however, I believe the first one provided sums up that form of government nicely: “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.”

When defining a republic or democracy, one usually finds the following: “A republic is a representative form of government that is ruled according to a charter or constitution. A democracy is a government that is ruled according to the will of the majority. Although these forms of government are often confused, they are quite different.”


For a democratic republic I have yet to find a good definition; however, when you put the two words together, I think a good definition is: “A democratic republic is, strictly speaking, a country that is both a republic and a democracy. It is one where ultimate authority and power is derived from the citizens, and the government itself is run through elected officials.” In our democratic republic, we have an elected president versus a monarch.

Progressives will boast that they are non-confrontational and inclusive of everyone. Well, almost everyone. Unfortunately, that philosophy does not extend to anyone who believes differently then they do. Disagree with a progressive, and you might be labeled homophobic, racist, sexist, and lacking the American values of compassion and feeling. Forget what made this country the great land it is today. According to the progressives, it needs a total makeover, using their philosophy.

We just celebrated the Fourth of July. On that day we celebrate our independence from Great Britain and one of the two documents that frame our country’s existence, the Declaration of Independence.

Are we teaching what that document is or what it says anymore? And, what about the Constitution? Do our children know the importance of these two documents, or what they cost in lives? Do our children know why Delaware is called the First State?

Progressivism has been creeping into our daily lives and language for far too long. The 2018 elections are not that far off. To everyone in Delaware, think long and hard about how you cast your next ballot.

If we keep people like Coons, Carper, Blunt-Rochester, Carney and many of our state senators and representatives, Delaware will become a “mini” California, Illinois, New York or New Jersey. Don’t let that happen here.

Frank Daniels
Colonel (Retired), USAR

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